Cal Poly Women's Basketball to Open 2017-18 Season at USF Friday Night

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Cal Poly women's basketball team will begin the 2017-18 season this week, visiting San Francisco for a Friday night opener. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. inside War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

USF, led by preseason All-WCC senior guard Anna Seilund (who averaged 11.9 points and 4.0 assists per game in 2016-17), won 73-67 at Cal Poly last December, snapping a two-game skid against the Mustangs.

Cal Poly will return to Mott Athletics Center to host Grand Canyon for its home opener at 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 16. The home opener vs. the Lopes will feature free 2017-18 schedule posters for the first 250 fans.

HOLIDAY BEACH CLASSIC RETURNS NOV. 24-26: San Francisco will also attend this year's ShareSLO Holiday Beach Classic along with Robert Morris (back-to-back Northeast Conference champions), joining the Mustangs at the 11th annual tournament with free admission.

The schedule for the tournament, which invites community members to bring canned/non-perishable items to Mott to donate to SLO Food Bank, is as follows:

Friday, Nov. 24
2:00 p.m. • Robert Morris @ Cal Poly

Saturday, Nov. 25
2:00 p.m. • San Francisco vs. Robert Morris

Sunday, Nov. 26
12 noon • San Francisco @ Cal Poly

LEAUPEPE TWINS SELECTED TO PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM: Cal Poly seniors Dynn Leaupepe and Lynn Leaupepe were each chosen to the Preseason All-Big West Team announced Oct. 25.

No. 11 in school history in career scoring (1,036 points), Dynn is also the Big West's sixth-leading all-time free-throw shooter (.815). A back-to-back All-Big West honorable mention and the conference Player of the Week on Jan. 9 as a junior, she begins her year also with 439 career rebounds, 147 assists and 108 steals.

Lynn Leaupepe earned All-Big West Second Team accolades last season, averaging 14.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals. She had nine double-doubles as a junior — tied for the second-most throughout the conference.

Named conference Player of the Week on Jan. 23, 2017, Lynn enters this season No. 25 in program history with 773 points, as well as No. 12 all-time in rebounding, with 495 boards.

STAHLEY ALSO AMONG BIG WEST LEADERS: In addition to ranking sixth in the Big West in assists per game (3.7), Mustang junior point guard Dye Stahley was third in the conference (and 60th nationally) as a sophomore in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1).

CAL POLY VOTED FOURTH, SIXTH IN PRESEASON POLLS: Cal Poly was voted tied for fourth with Hawai'i in the conference's preseason media poll with 98 points, and sixth in the coaches poll with 44 points (including one first-place vote).

Defending Big West regular-season champion UC Davis was voted No. 1 in each poll, with CSUN and UCSB occupying second & third in both as well.

The Mustangs return 11 letterwinners (including seven seniors) from last season's squad which finished 11-18 (7-9), joined by a trio of true freshmen along with a fourth newcomer in junior center Devin Stanback, who redshirted last season upon transferring from Pepperdine.

Big West action will start at UC Riverside on Jan. 4. The first round (featuring seeds 5-8) and quarterfinals (adding the No. 3 and 4 seeds) of the 35th annual Big West Tournament will be held from March 6-7 at Fullerton's Titan Gym, before the semifinals and championship game move to the Honda Center in Anaheim for March 9-10.

FOLLOW THE MUSTANGS: Cal Poly students always get into games for free, and are also invited to join the Stang Gang. Stang Gang — Cal Poly's student fan group — features several rewards for a $10 one-time lifetime registration fee, including prizes from sponsors such as Woodstock's Pizza, Eureka! and VISA, a member T-Shirt, and more upon reaching point levels by checking in at games.

For the general public, tickets are available at GoPoly.com, by calling (805) 756-4849 or by visiting the sidewalk window at the on-campus Performing Arts Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.

Families are also encouraged to sign up for the Mustang Kids Club ($5 per child/8th grade or under), as benefits include ongoing free admission to all regular-season soccer, volleyball, wrestling & women's basketball events along with select football, men's basketball and baseball games; plus invitations to exclusive events, birthday cards, free ice cream from Doc Burnstein's and a T-Shirt.

In addition to the home opener and Beach Classic, Mustang games throughout the season feature several fan giveaways along with campus and community events:

• Friday, Dec. 29 - 7 p.m. vs. CSU Bakersfield
In the final game of the calendar year, the Mustangs will finish non-conference play with Mustang Kids Club Night. Members are invited to Musty's pregame birthday party with pizza and cake.

• Saturday, Jan. 13 - 2 p.m. vs. CSUN
For Youth Basketball Day, all youth 13-and-under receive free admission to the game against the Matadors, led by Channon Fluker, the 2017 Big West Player of the Year and a USA Basketball U-23 training camp invitee.

• Saturday, Jan. 20 - 2 p.m. vs. UC Davis
For Special Olympics Day against the Aggies (who last season advanced to the third round of the WNIT), all athletes are invited to attend for free.

• Saturday, Feb. 10 - 2 p.m. vs. Long Beach State
On Play4Kay Day, fans are encouraged to wear pink, and $2 from every ticket purchased will go directly to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund to support cancer research.

• Saturday, Feb. 24 - 2 p.m. vs. Cal State Fullerton
Senior Day will also be Poly Play Day, as kids are invited to an annual pregame carnival at 1 p.m. in the Stampede Club Tent, followed by free admission to the home finale for youth 13-and-under.

CAL POLY ADDED TO ESPN3 LINEUP: Cal Poly will play on ESPN3/WatchESPN (available on all platforms and mobile devices) on both Dec. 16 (at North Dakota State) and Jan. 25 (at defending Big West Tournament champion Long Beach State), marking the program's 10th and 11th appearances on the network since 2015.

Additionally, the Mustangs' game at Northern Arizona (on Dec. 9) will be broadcast on Fox Sports Arizona, while the matchup at Hawai'i (March 3) will be televised by Spectrum Sports HI.